Securing the Right to Land FULL - ANGOC

SECURING THE RIGHT TO LAND134
The Integrated Social Forestry (ISF) Program of 1982 recognized
the people’s role in forest management. A Certificate of
Stewardship (CS) or a Certificate of Community Forest Stewardship
(CCFS) provided tenurial security for the first time for
individuals and communities over 25 years. In 1989, the
Community Forestry Program (CFP) (Department of Environment
and Natural Resources [DENR] Administrative Order No.
123) through Community Forestry Management Agreements
(CFMAs) awarded organized upland communities a period of
25 years, renewable for another 25 years, to utilize and sell
products from within the residual forest, as well as establish
plantations.
There were also presidential issuances and proclamations declaring
certain pieces of land as tourism zones or agricultural lands.
Presidential Proclamation (PP) 2282 identified and declared certain
areas from all the regions of the Philippines for agriculture
and settlement. Most of the areas covered by PP 2282 were forest
or ancestral lands. Some NGOs allege that PP 2282 is still being
used today to justify inclusion of upland areas and ancestral
lands in other tenure reform programs or public land concessions.
Constitutional Framework
Philippine lands are either inalienable (owned by the State) or
alienable and disposable (may be privately owned). Various laws
govern the nature and utilization of these lands.
The current legal framework for access to land is rooted in the
1987 Constitution. Article II, Declaration of Principles and
State Policies, lays down the general principles of access to
land: (i) Protection of property [Section 5]; (ii) Promotion of
social justice and human rights [Sections 10 and 11]; (iii) Promotion
of rural development and agrarian reform [Section 21];
(iv) Promotion of the rights of indigenous communities [Section
22]; (v) Promotion of a self-reliant and independent national
economy [Section 19]; and (vi) Protection of the right of
the people to a balanced and healthful ecology [Section 12].
Other provisions in the Constitution further underscore these
principles.
Protection of property. Property can be taken away, but
only with due process, and in certain cases, with just compensation.
(Article III, Section 1 and 9)
Promotion of social justice and human rights. The use of
property must be regulated in the interest of social justice.
(Article XIII, Section 1 and Article XII)
Promotion of rural development and agrarian reform.
The State must undertake an agrarian reform program
founded on the right of farmers and regular farmworkers
who are landless, to own directly or collectively the lands
they till or, in the case of other farmworkers, to receive a
just share of its fruits. (Article XIII)
Promotion of the rights of indigenous communities establishes
the rights of indigenous communities to their ancestral
lands. Section 5 of the Article on National Economy
and Patrimony requires the State to protect the rights of indigenous
cultural communities to their ancestral lands. (Article
XIII, Section 6)
Promotion of a self-reliant and independent national
economy. The national economy must create a more equitable
distribution of opportunities, income, and wealth and
refers to agricultural development and agrarian reform as the
basis for industrialization and full employment. The State
must also protect Filipino enterprises against unfair foreign
competition and trade practices. (Article XII, Section 1)
Protection of the right to a balanced and healthful
ecology. Ecological considerations were made as bases for
the State’s prioritization and setting of retention limits in undertaking
agrarian reform. Congress must determine the
boundaries of forest lands and national parks. Such forest
lands and national parks are to be conserved. Congress shall
provide measures to prohibit logging in endangered forests
and watershed areas. (Article XIII, Section 4). Requirements
for conservation, ecology, and development, shall be considered
by Congress in the determination of the size of lands of
the public domain which may be acquired, developed, held,
or leased. (Article XIII, Section 3)
In sum, the 1987 Constitution shows a consistent policy that
links land ownership and use to equitable distribution of
wealth and to a balanced ecology. Corollary to this main policy
are the restrictive policies on the alienation of lands and on
the use of alienated and private lands, the policies on the conservation
and protection of resources, and the recognition of
the rights of farmers, indigenous communities and other
marginalized groups. These policies should serve as the yardstick
for legislation pertaining to access to land.
Laws on Access to Land
At least five codes and 11 laws—most of these based on the
1987 Philippine Constitution—affect the use and regulation of